


tea time and tin-foil hats

by asexuelf



Series: Month of Salentine's [6]
Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: Addison's Tea, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Red String of Fate, Soulmates, Texting, Todd Morrison and Travis Phelps are Friends, please and thank you!!, well its a tea shop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:53:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22589716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asexuelf/pseuds/asexuelf
Summary: Travis will not follow the red string. Travis will not follow the red string.(Travis follows the red string.)
Relationships: Sal Fisher/Travis Phelps, Todd Morrison/Neil
Series: Month of Salentine's [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1620466
Comments: 21
Kudos: 52





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> geez, formatting this took foreeever. might wanna have show author's skin on for this one, otherwise the fic might look all wanky
> 
> ok listen i know i already have chapter works/series i need to work on but. consider this: SOULMATES. ajkdlsd my writers block has been kickin me in the head, so have this for now while i hopefully get my prom fic ready for valentines day :3c i hope you enjoy!!!

It's somewhat universally accepted by everyone that you do not follow the red string.

Fate comes to you. That's what they tell you in preschool, that's what they tell you in elementary, that's what they tell you in junior high… If you are meant to meet the person at the end of the red line, then you will.

Fate comes to you.

But they never talk about the other things Travis experiences.

Dreams of endless white light, bright and blinding. Sudden blackouts where he's there, trapped in that unending white room, his red string a taut line that pulls at his finger painfully, while his body is frozen or seizing in the waking world. And a voice that isn't a voice. A finger tracing the back of his mind, like feeling the presence of someone you know is in the room just out of sight...

Travis has always struggled to feel the red line of fate when he's awake, but he's always known that other presence.

They don't talk about any of it in health class or in fate studies or in- in anywhere! No one else in his classes ever seems concerned, so he keeps it to himself. His doctor tells him his seizures have no source, no logical reason behind them. He takes pills that don't help and wakes up on the floor feeling as though he's stared into the sun.

He's Googled it, of course. He's searched the internet far and wide for an explanation but his findings are usually so miniscule or off-the-wall that he might as well fashion a tin-foil hat and sit on his roof every night. There's only one thing that he's ever found that seems to be helpful, and it was a forum put together by someone with similar experiences. In the original post, the guy talks about feeling someone in his mind like a low-level telepathic connection. He talks about his seizures and how his doctors can't find the cause. He talks about strange dreams, full of imagery he couldn't explain - something Travis thought was just because of his trauma and not fate related at all. He talks about feeling isolated and strange.

He also talks about aliens, but that's alright. Travis replied anyways - and though that was a few years ago now, he's still the only one to date.

They talked back and forth on the forum for a while, but as the topic grew more personal, it became easier to just text. They exchanged numbers, texting back and forth until his friend decided "the government can read that; that's bad" and put together an encrypted app. It functions as a group chat, made that way in the hopes of including anyone else who came forward with similar experiences.

The group chat is just the two of them; Travis Phelps and the tin-foil hat guy, also known as Todd Morrison. 

Todd's a good guy.

Not to mention your only friend. He reaches for his phone with that thought in mind, trying not to shiver as cold invades his pajamas now that he's no longer curled up under his blanket.

Rubbing sleep from his eyes, Travis opens up the app and starts typing.

hey todd. the stupid fuking dream haooened again  
  
*haopend  
  
oh watevr  
  
this time it was like different. darker n shit. there was a dog again but??? it talk to me and said som creepy shit. about like… “barying her alive” or smthing??  
  
the dog doesn't usualy talk  
  


It may be a while until Todd replies, since the guy is usually so busy with his freaky science experiments or, like, trying to find UFOs, but that's alright. Travis needs to get his shit together anyways. As much as he cares about the guy, it's too fucking early for Todd's bullshit about men from the moon.

He showers, puts eye drops in his fucked up eye, brushes his teeth and dentures and hair, all that good stuff. He's considering skipping breakfast when he finally gets a reply.

I had another strange dream as well.  
  


Travis waits for more, but that's all Todd has for him apparently. Not even little 'x is typing…' dots. Travis isn't sure what timezone the guy's in, so maybe he's getting ready for his morning too? It's weird to think about Todd, like, being in bed and shit. If it weren't for them comparing dreams, he'd assume Todd never slept.

Sighing, he shoves his phone back into his sleep shorts and stumbles to his kitchen. Eating too early makes his stomach sick, but it can't hurt to eat some bread at least. Right?

Yeah, bread's good. Better than passing out during his first day at work anyways.

While he forces himself to fry up some honey-drizzled toast, he ponders what the dream could have meant.

Back when he lived with his father, they had a kennel full of dogs. They bred them - it's how they made money while his father worked at the church. His mother - the only her he can imagine a dog referring too - hasn't been buried anywhere. The woman is alive and well a few states away, having escaped her abusive husband years before Travis ever did. If it doesn't make sense literally then, what does it mean?

Ugh. This is why he leaves all the thinking to Todd. This sucks.

As he flips the bread over, his eyes drift to his pinky, where a pale thread mocks him. It's no vibrant red like it is in the picture books, but Travis has long since realized that that's his issue. Even Todd says his is a shocking shade of red. 

Some people have greyish-white threads, but that's when their fated dies. And it only turns white later in life - it isn't possible for someone to die before their fate is met. Or, that's what they said in fate studies.

So it's just Travis who has a pink line of fate. What a joke.

He plates his toast, then chomps bitterly into it as it burns his hand. It's pretty good, though, so it's hard to stay too grumpy. If there's any consolation in this world, it's that there's someone else in this world that has a pink line of fate too. If they were dead, it would be colorless.

Travis has a fate. He just has to find them.

When he finishes his toast, he leans back in his chair and checks his phone again. His eyes widen and he almost falls backwards.

I am considering following the red line.  
  


What the hell?!

dude no way  
  
can u even do that??  
  
i thought u werent suspposed too  
  
Well, it is a bit looked down upon in the public sphere, but as you know, I’ve been doing research on this for quite some time. It appears there is no other reason to avoid following the red line.  
  
so wat?? ur just gonna find ur guy then wat  
  
I plan to ask him if he experiences the same things I do. Though, considering last night’s dream, I’m going to say he does.  
  
After you fell asleep during out Tuesday call, I stayed up and did some research on my own. I found some things; old fairy tales and the like that detail phenomena similar to our experiences. Obviously, there weren’t very popular, otherwise we’d have heard of them already.  
  


Fairy tales? Travis blinks in surprise. How the hell are fairy stories research? Still, if Todd calls it a science, it's probably a science.

y only tell me this now?? y not on wensday  
  
I found little of note worth sharing, but there were a few points of interest in some very old Nordic texts. It was difficult to find faithful translations but I managed it before falling asleep last night. I’m sending you the file now.  
  


"Shit, okay." He probably won't be able to make sense of it, but he goes to the laptop on his desk, logs into his email, and starts downloading. "That's a big file, Todd."

He giggles to himself. Gross…

ill hav to read it aftr work. first day !!!  
  
Congratulations.  
  
thnx lov ya todd  
  
so wat did u dream about anywyas?? seemd like a bit deal  
  


He checks the time and sighs in relief. At this rate, he'll be wonderfully early. He's not usually the kiss-ass type, but he wants to let his new boss know he's serious about this. The guy's taking a major risk with him; Travis is going to be one of the first employees ever in Terrance Addison's dream teashop.

Travis doesn't know shit about tea, but goddamn him if he isn't going to show up and learn!

He checks his appearance one more time, wondering again if he should wear his eyepatch. Today's just going to be training and helping set up since the shop isn't open open yet, but an injury like this tends to make people uncomfortable.

His milky white eye stares unseeingly into the mirror.

When he covers it, it doesn't go away.

He turns his back to the mirror very pointedly. "Alright, Todd. What do you have for me."

When he turns his head slightly to look through his left eye, he feels it more than he would otherwise.

He was there. I dreamt that he was with me and our hands were connected by the red thread. We spoke. I remember speaking to him; we held a long, thoughtful conversation. Informative. I cannot, however, remember a single word that was said.  
  


Oh. Well, that's a little more important than Travis' vanity.

wat did he look like? was h hot??  
  
...  
  
Yes.  
  


"Nice."

He was above average height and his eyes were very dark and very friendly.  
  
haha score  
  
do u think it was just a drea?? or lik… do u think u met him  
  
You can feel it now, right? That feeling like someone is behind you, in front of you, and within you.  
  
thats kinda gross but ya  
  
When I was dreaming, it was like I could finally see the person that was there. For the first time, we were together, not just tethered.  
  
It was him, I know it was. I can feel him still. He didn’t eat breakfast, so he’s hungry. He’s waiting for lunchtime. When his coworker says something funny, I can feel it.  
  
I’ve been focusing very hard on that feeling and I can feel him focusing back.  
  
I just wish I could remember his name. Then I could find him again in real life.  
  
holy shit.  
  
Well put.  
  
so thats y u were htinking of folowing tbe line… so u can see him again?  
  
Yes. I understand that many fear you will disturb fate and cause a butterfly effect by following the line, but I don’t think I agree. No real science on the subject seems to prove that following the line causes any form of disruption.  
  
ya and anways wat if its ur fate to follow the line??  
  
lots to think ab  
  
Indeed. I’m going to keep tugging the thread and trying to establish a deeper connection with my fated. You should go to work.  
  
OH SHIT I ALMOS FORGIT  
  
ok gooluck w ur mans haha xo  
  
Kiss.  
  


Travis grabs his keys, his wallet, and shoves his phone into his pocket before patting each one three times, just to be sure he has it. Then he runs back and grabs his eyepatch - just in case. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if the bubbles are out of whack, i couldn't figure out how to put them to the left instead of the middle -_-; hopefully it doesn't look super freaky on mobile
> 
> thank you for reading !! 💖
> 
> edit: sorry if this ever looks wonky/the text bubbles disappear! if that happens, i'm probably playing with the source code. just hang tight!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh god i hope this works akdjskdjs i just spent so long formatting/coding this thing i ain't even kidding
> 
> here's chapter two!! way earlier than i thought you'd be getting it but apparently i'm inspired with this fic akdjskd HOPEFULLY the bubbles continue to behave. if they look freaky, don't be afraid to drop me a comment telling me so.
> 
> warnings for... not much! kenneth phelps is mentioned and a ~mystery~ is underfoot!
> 
> i hope you enjoy!! 💖

Sal is beyond tired. Head spinning like it's full of cotton tired. Can barely see through his blurry vision tired. Has one foot in the grave tired.

It's bad. He rubs at his sleepy, snotty eye and groans. "This is so bad," he gripes aloud.

He's never been one for complaining, but he can allow himself this much, he thinks. The nightmares kept him awake half the night again, dreams of his mother's cold body and his father's angry face haunting his eyelids, staining his mind. And the dog.

God, _the dog._ He hates it when the dog talks.

Suppressing a shiver, he puts the nasty thoughts from his mind and stretches his arms up, up, up into the sky and breathes until he feels more awake. It doesn't work much, not really, but he's doing his best. He's doing what he can.

He tells himself that again, and again, and again.

_I'm doing what I can._

Self-affirmation, according to Dr. James Enon, professional psychotherapist and unusual fate counselor, is important. Considering how much Sal pays out of pocket to see the guy, he thinks he ought to listen.

Finally, with that out of the way (and the nightmares out of his mind), Sal tosses his legs over the side of the bed and looks towards his alarm clock. His eye widens in horror.

"Shit, _shit_ , **_shit_ _!!_** "

He's late! He's so fucking late. And it's going to take way too much time to put himself together in order to make up for lost time. _Gah!_

How is he going to get there? The shop isn't too far, so he can run and hope he doesn't smell… It'll have to work. An Uber is too expensive. Jeez, being a college student sucks.

All these years of coming and going and he still doesn't even have a car, let alone a license - and it's not like Neil's around to drive him if he asked. He goes to work even earlier than Sal was expected to be awake. Poor guy's been run ragged trying to save up for his own classes, not to mention their rent.

Ugh, he's getting distracted. He needs his meds.

He drops a quick text to Larry to let him know how hilariously, horrible, offensively late he's going to be before quickly going into the bathroom. He washes his face and rinses out the worst of the nasty crap from his prosthetic eye and eye socket before carefully drying his scars. He's especially careful of the hole in his cheek, keeping his teeth clenched just in case. He's just as careful as he gently brushes those teeth, then even more careful as he pours mouthwash over his tongue.

Evidently, he's too careful. Because he swallows it.

"Ugh!"

Sadly, a mouthful of mouthwash won't count as having a full stomach. And he cannot take his meds on an empty stomach - he will die. You only make that mistake once. Or twice. Or too many times.

But he won't make it today! Terrence has way too much riding on this shop for Sal to fail him now.

A terrible guilt grabs hold of Sal's chest.

_Oh God, I've failed him._

He runs to put a toaster strudel to warm, just enough to eat, then checks his phone anxiously as he waits.

your cool dude  
  
we're just chillin with the new guy. terrence was outta the house early waiting for me so we got a lot done. take your time bro  
  
Oh wow! Thats great larry  
  
Im really proud of him  
  
me too  
  
dudes finally beating his autophobia  
  
I think autophobia is the opposite of agoraphobia lar bear…  
  
don't make me throw you fisher  
  


Feeling ten times lighter, Sal lets himself laugh. He'll be late, but it'll be alright. He hasn't failed Terrence. He's okay.

He can even take a minute to braid his hair! That's a calming thought. He wants to look presentable, after all. This is Terrence's dream.

How should i dress? We dont have uniforms...  
  
im just wearing sf shirt and jeans lol  
  
If i show up in tripp pants will you shame me?  
  


Tripp pants are fashionable, right? Or should he wear a skirt…?

only if youre not wearing platform boots  
  
Im wearing docs to minimize damage. I dont want to break anything  
  
fuckin coward!  
  
hahaha  
  


The toaster strudel pops out of the toaster. It smells good, and when Sal takes a bite, it tastes even better. He isn't late. He isn't too late.

Everything is going to be just fine.

-

It's been a long ass morning, but Travis is feeling accomplished. Mostly.

He hasn't broken anything yet. That's a very pessimistic 'yet', but it is what it is. So far, work is going pretty great.

He hopes that won't change. He's so lucky to have this job. After all the shit that went down with his father, he barely got off the hook. He doesn't need to fuck this up. He cannot fuck this up.

"Thank you again, Mr. Addison-"

"Please, no, n-no thanks necessary!" The squirrelly man laughs awkwardly, arms full of a box of heavy dishware. "And do call me Terrence, Mr. Phelps."

"Yes, sir, Mr. A- Terrence, sir."

Laughter comes from a different source - the tall guy that's been helping Addison set up. He doesn't work here, not officially, but the dried paint on his torn jeans and well-loved band tee tell Travis it's only a matter of time. This guy is a starving artist through and through. He's a little too buff to look the trope, but Travis can make an exception.

He doesn't remember the guy's name. He tries not to let it smart that he's being laughed at by a guy whose name he can't even recall.

The guy looks up from his phone to smile at Travis. It's a smile that's all eyes, as if his face is too tired to do the rest. "You don't have to be super formal with Terrence. We're all cool, dude."

Travis swallows. "I- Sorry. I'm just really grateful."

"What did you do to get jail time?" Artsy Guy asks suddenly.

_Rude much?!_

He shoves his hands in his pockets and looks to the back door, like he's thinking about having a cigarette. "You kill somebody? Sell drugs?"

"Uh, no… Let's just say it isn't something to talk about in polite company. Know that I've never wittingly committed any crime and I've never meant to harm anyone."

"Sounds suspicious as hell. Awesome." Before Travis can retort, Artsy Guy shrugs. "We've all got demons. Sorry if I sounded like a dick. Not my intention."

Travis swallows down his anger, letting confusion take its place. Well, the de-escalated quickly. "No problem. I sound like a dick pretty much all of the time."

Artsy Guy laughs. "Sure you wanna work food service?"

"I can handle it." He can't help the slightly mean smirk that curls its way onto his face. "And the customers can handle me. I'm nice when I want to be."

"Sounds good."

Then, just like Travis knew he would, Artsy Guy takes a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He gestures to the door and holds up five fingers.

"I'll be back in five," he says, which means he definitely will not be. Travis hides his sigh. "If Sal comes in, tell him I'm out back."

'Sal'...? Right, the other volunteer. Mr. Addison has been talking that guy up like he invented toaster strudel. The part of Travis that's still fifteen thinks he sounds like a kiss-ass. The part of Travis that's honest thinks he sounds like a really great guy - and that just makes him more nervous about meeting him.

But, well, not much choice in the grand scheme of things. All Travis can do is be his best self and hope no one else asks about his criminal past. As if those two words could ever even come close to describing what happened. _Criminal past._ What a fucking joke.

Ugh.

werk is goin gud but uhhhh  
  
lets just sau hypatheticly that i am nervous an could use a frend  
  


Todd, the absolute angel, texts back immediately.

Star Trek marathon stream tonight? My research can wait.  
  
ur my tru fated toddy boy  
  
You choose Kirk over Picard. It would never work.  
  
jim id hot ok get som taste smfh….  
  
Enjoy the rest of your workday.  
  
uuugghhh ya u to. kisses!!  
  
XOXO  
  


Shoving his phone back into his pants pocket, Travis sighs deeply. Back to the grind…

Right now, his job is just to set up and familiarize himself with the kitchen space. He can do that. He's totally done that before. He's definitely one-hundred percent a fucking expert on tea.

Jesus Christ.

He's really looking forward to Star Trek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading!! 💖 lmk what you're feelin so far! :3


End file.
